The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington

I don’t remember where I heard that Booth Tarkington’s “The Magnificent Ambersons” was a good book or how it got on my list. For about the first three fourths of the book, I didn’t believe it. I was sorely tempted to put it down out of sheer irritation, but the beauty of the writing itself made me think that there had to be something of worth there. Then it turned a corner and everything that was infuriating about it became amazing as redemption shone its light on a character who has to be one of the most arrogant, spoilt twits in literature.

George Amberson, doted over and petted by his mother, Isabel, believes that to be an Amberson is the highest ideal, and he is the ideal Amberson. The Amberson family are the town elite; they are the center of commerce, fashion, architecture, culture—everything. Despite his arrogance, George has a certain charm, and a young lady new to town, Lucy Morgan, finds herself fascinated by him.

However, George’s lazy attitude and overweening confidence begins to cause pain to everyone in his life. He demands his way in everything, and his mother, believing him to be an angel, gives it to him. Lucy, unlike Isabel, can recognize his faults. She calls him “Rides Down Everything,” and will not marry him. But George cannot believe that he is to blame for anything, and eventually destroys those who love him best, so blind to his own faults that he honestly thinks he is doing them a service.

But even as George has “ridden down” everyone, the Industrial Age begins to ride down the Amberson family with relentless change. One by one they die and their fortunes vanish. As the Amberson legacy falls to dust, and George discovers that being an Amberson no longer has any value, he has no choice but to confront what he has done and who he really is.

This is one of those books where the layout of the story is as complex and image-driven as a poem. The progress of the town and the Amberson family fortunes mirrors George’s personal story. The irony in the story, especially regarding George’s downfall is beautifully done and adds a painful bite to his humiliation that I don’t think I would have felt otherwise.

The book asks the question: in a world of constant change, what is valuable enough, constant enough, to spend a life pursuing? It’s not a fast-paced, high-action, modern novel, but it is about forgiveness, redemption, and what truly matters in life. And that is always worth reading.